CFO Sink Appoints Harold M. Knowles to Citizens Board of Governors

4/26/2010

TALLAHASSEE— Florida CFO Alex Sink today announced the appointment of Harold M. Knowles to the Board of Governors for Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, effective April 21, 2010, through July 31, 2011. Citizens is one of the largest property and casualty insurance companies in the nation and the largest property insurer in Florida.

Knowles, 62, is the managing shareholder in Knowles & Randolph, the oldest African-American law firm in North Florida with offices in Tallahassee and Quincy.

“Harold is a principled, dedicated public servant, who brings a wealth of civic and private-sector experience to the Board,” said CFO Sink. “I’m grateful for his commitment to serve in the best interests of Florida’s insurance consumers.”

Mr. Knowles is admitted to practice before the Florida Supreme Court, the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. He has served as president of the Tallahassee Barristers Association, is a member of the National Bar Association and the Florida Bar's Real Property and Probate Law Section, as well as its Administrative Law Section. For the past ten years Mr. Knowles has been listed in the “Red Book,” a compendium of lawyers who are experts in the field of bond finance. He has served two terms on the Second Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission and one term on the Florida Bar Grievance Committee for the Second Circuit.

Knowles’ civic interests and leadership roles include serving on the Board of Directors of Capital City Bank, membership on the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center Authority, the Tallahassee Downtown Improvement Authority and the Northwest Florida Black Business Investment Board. In 1999 he was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to serve on the State of Florida Lottery Commission; in 2001, he was appointed by Governor Bush to serve on the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission and more recently, to the Board of Trustees of Florida State University.

He received his B.A. degree in 1969 from the Florida State University School of Government and his Juris Doctor in 1973 from the Florida State University College of Law. He and his wife Anne have one son, Clayton, who is a student at Florida State University College of Law.

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As a statewide elected officer of the Florida Cabinet, CFO Alex Sink oversees the Department of Financial Services. A successful businesswoman with nearly three decades of experience in the private sector, Sink is serving her first term as Florida's CFO. As CFO, Sink's priorities include using her business experience to cut wasteful government spending, cracking down on financial and insurance fraud and reforming the state government's contracting practices.